Paula's Soapbox

Dr. Lisa Niles's inability to take "no" or "never again" for an answer may turn out to be the thing that finally makes this character and her storyline worth watching. I really hope General Hospital is planning on taking the psychotic ex-girlfriend route with her because it would finally give me a reason to care about this otherwise boring triangle. Not to mention the fact that it would teach Patrick a valuable lesson of why it is a bad idea to cheat on his wife. The crazy, unstable ex-girlfriend plot almost always makes for an entertaining soap storyline. In fact some of the most memorable performances from soaps have been given in the context of demented exes seeking revenge or vindication of some sort. I can still recall many of the scenes in which Cynthia Watros portrayed Josh Lewis's jilted wife Annie on Guiding Light. She made a near seamless transition from mild-mannered nurse to Josh and Reva's worst nightmare ov...

I recently finished reading the book Young, Restless, and Broke by Blossom Kan and Michelle Yu, the acclaimed authors of China Dolls.  It might seem kind of strange that I would be talking about a book considering this is a soap opera blog, but I assure you this book is relevant. It is about a young, aspiring actress named Sarah who dreams of starring on her favorite soap one day. Sarah is the ultimate soap fan, as is her friend Chad, so this book is filled with soap references, most of which are based on actual soaps, their storylines, and their actors. Sarah's dreams of becoming a soap actress take her on an unexpected journey that often mirrors a soap opera, leading her on a path of self-discovery and self-worth. I really enjoyed this book. It's the perfect summer read because it's relatively short with less than 300 pages, more importantly it's easy to follow. It's something you can pick up and read for a little while, then put down without having difficulty r...

With the rest of the country setting off fireworks to commemorate Independence Day, Port Charles had an explosion of a different kind on Friday, symbolizing the tendency for Sonny's plans to blow up in his face - pun intended. It baffles me that anyone who claims to love their kids as much as Sonny does could be so clueless when it comes to their well being. It's not as if Sonny hasn't had a plethora of opportunities to learn the lessons that would make most people stop and think about how their actions affect their kids. He just refuses to learn those lessons, no matter how high the cost. In that way he and Claudia were a lot alike, except in the end her mistakes caught up with her, Sonny's never will. There will always be someone there to make excuses for his behavior, ensuring that he is never far from redemption. That certainly shouldn't be too difficult this time, considering Kristina's recent behavior. It's easy enough to see that if she hadn't bee...